Arizona State Credit Union Timeline

In the early 1920s, Edward Filene, recognizing the value of credit unions amongst the working class, formed the Credit Union National Extension Bureau to champion individuals seeking approval to organize credit unions around the country. He hired Roy F. Bergengren, a Massachusetts lawyer, to establish federal and state laws. Filene and Bergengren sought to promote credit unions as an alternative to traditional lenders.

During the 1940s and 1950s credit unions began spreading out in Arizona. Employee based credit unions serving large corporations, military establishments, and city and federal workers made up the majority of credit unions at the time.

Mr. B.F. Hill, Chief Clerk of the Industrial Commission of Arizona, suggested in the summer of 1951 that a credit union was needed by state employees. Clarene Slade who worked in the accounting department, worked closely with Hill's office to find support for a credit union. Slade, with the assistance from the Federal Bureau of Credit Unions, completed the necessary work and Arizona State Credit Union was born on October 31, 1951.

Today, Arizona State Credit Union is the largest state-chartered federally insured credit union in Arizona. Nationwide, nearly 8,000 credit unions serve 90 million members throughout the United States.